This is not a question, just posting an update. My 92-year-old father-in-law passed away 12/13 at 12:13 p.m. Starting last Tuesday he fell asleep and couldn't be roused to eat or have a conversation. He stopped eating and had very very little water. My husband (an only child) and I were with him when he slipped into eternity. We're grateful there was no pain, no labored breathing. My husband started combing his hair and stroking his forehead, we saw him visibly relax and then he drew two short quick breaths and then he was gone. He had lived with us for a year (cancer and dementia) but in early September we placed him in a nursing home because 24-hour care was too difficult to us. We will never regret the decision to have him reside there. Thankfully it was less than a mile from our home. We saw him every evening and I went over on my lunch hour. It's very strange not to be there today.
Yes, it will feel odd not stopping by the facility as it, too, was just down the street. I will miss the strange cast of characters who's dementia made them into quite interesting people :) Such as the tiny lady who was obsessed with cleaning the dining room tables, she worked hard on each one, it kept her busy.... to the lady with the hat who acted like a hall monitor with her chair in the middle of the hallway speaking in a language I didn't recognize or a language she made up. It was a sad place yet comical at times, especially when meals were served.
I was glad to be there when Mom took her last breath as I didn't want her to be alone, but on the other side of the coin hard to shake that image out of my head. I rather had remember her as the delightful smiling person she was, guess that will come in time.